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By Salman Khan, OSCP+, Founder of XHack, SRT (Synack Red Team member)
Read this in 30 seconds: Before you pick a HackerGPT alternative, know that “HackerGPT” is not one product, and some of the sites and bots that use the name are the kind you should avoid. On 9 November 2026 the name pointed at an abandoned-looking domain, a tool that sells credits for cryptocurrency, similarly named products and unaffiliated clones. This guide is a caution first and a list of safer options second.
- “HackerGPT” is several unrelated things. The 2024 assistant’s original domain showed a “for sale” page when I checked, other sites reuse the name, and I could not confirm that any two of them are the same company.
- The price everyone repeats is not on a vendor page I could read. A “$20 a month Pro plan” comes from one 2024 article, so do not pay anyone on the strength of it.
- Name-alike tools and clones are a real risk. Some GitHub projects and Telegram bots that reuse the name advertise backdoor features, and some tools sold under the name offer people-lookup features that are not security testing at all.
- Safer options exist. PentestGPT (MIT licence, published at USENIX Security 2024) and Strix (Apache-2.0) are open source, and a verified-access platform checks who you are before it unlocks exploitation.
- XHack is the strongest all-in-one option here. It combines an autonomous agent, verified-access capability and human testers, from $20 a month with a 7-day trial.
If you searched for a HackerGPT alternative, you are probably in one of three places. You tried a HackerGPT site and it was gone, you found two products with similar names and could not tell which was which, or you want something that does more than chat. The honest advice for all three starts with the same step: work out who you are dealing with before you hand over a payment or a client’s data.
This guide sorts the names, lists the red flags I would check, and then covers the HackerGPT alternative options that I can stand behind. I read the pages on 9 November 2026 and did not run any of these tools, so where I rely on a vendor’s own claim I say so.
The name HackerGPT covers more than one thing, so check the domain and the company before you trust any HackerGPT alternative that uses it. Here is what I observed and what I could not confirm.
| What you may have seen | What I observed | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The 2024 HackerGPT 2.0 assistant | Announced in February 2024 as an open-source beta; its original domain showed a “for sale” page on 9 November 2026 | Do not trust a site just because it used that domain once |
| Other sites and apps called HackerGPT | At least one separate site sells access by credits and describes itself as an OSINT and CTF tool | Read the terms and the payment method before you pay |
| Similarly named products | A differently named product appears for the same searches, and I could not confirm any link to HackerGPT | Treat it as unrelated until its owner says otherwise |
| GitHub and Telegram clones | Some reuse the name and advertise “backdoor” features | Avoid them, as our WormGPT alternative guide explains for the same pattern |
I am not linking or pricing these on purpose. Naming the pattern is useful, and sending you to the sites is not.
A legitimate security tool tells you who runs it, what it does with your data and how to pay in ordinary ways. Walk through this list before you trust a HackerGPT alternative with a card or a client’s traffic.
Our best LLM for bug bounty guide covers how to weigh refusals, cost and data together for tools that pass this list.
The searches behind a HackerGPT alternative fall into four needs, and each has a safer answer.
The safer HackerGPT alternative options are open-source agents you run yourself, a licence-based tool for one protocol, and a verified-access platform. I compare only options I can verify.
| Option | What it is | Price read | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| PentestGPT | Open-source autonomous pentest framework | Free (MIT) plus your model costs | You install and run it; research-origin project |
| Strix | Open-source autonomous pentest agents | Free (Apache-2.0) plus your model key | Needs Docker and an LLM API key; a hosted cloud also exists |
| A coding agent you configure | General agent with your own tools | Your model plan | You own the setup, the refusals and the verification |
| Burp AI and Burp AT | AI inside Burp Suite | $499 licence plus $19 to $249 a month | Web testing; see our Burp AI pricing guide |
| XHack | Agent, platform and human testers | $20, $49 and $150 a month | Exploitation unlocks after identity verification |
For a free HackerGPT alternative, PentestGPT’s repository describes an automated penetration testing agentic framework under the MIT licence, with about 16,300 stars, a USENIX Security 2024 paper and a v1.0.0 release on 24 December 2025. Strix’s README describes autonomous AI pentesting agents with a Docker sandbox, an Apache-2.0 licence, about 74,500 stars and v1.7.0 released 5 October 2026.
Both are real software with real communities, and both cost you only your model bill. I have not benchmarked either, and I found no independent test comparing them, so I cannot tell you which finds more. Our PentestGPT alternatives guide and the Strix versus XHack comparison go deeper on each.
A tool that promises “no limits” without asking who you are is the riskiest way to get fewer refusals. The three routes differ in who is accountable. Abliterated local models give you privacy but no vendor and no audit trail. Criminal tools cannot be used without destroying your chain of custody, as our WormGPT alternative guide explains. Verified access gates capability behind identity verification and logs, which is the model behind XHack’s unrestricted AI agent.
Start from the job and the data rules, not from the name. Five questions settle most choices.
So yeah, here is where we talk about our own product. I am biased, it is my company, and I think it is the strongest all-in-one HackerGPT alternative on this list, for reasons you can check.
Most HackerGPT alternatives give you one layer. A chat helper answers questions, an open-source agent runs scans, and a licence-based tool covers one protocol. XHack combines three things most providers sell separately: an autonomous AI agent, a continuous security platform and human testers.
Individual plans are $20, $49 and $150 a month, with a 7-day free trial, one per person. See the pricing page and the agent for bug bounty guide. Run it against a lab you own and judge it by what it finds, because brutal honesty is kind of our thing.
For the whole engagement in one place, I think XHack is the best HackerGPT alternative, and I am biased. For a free route, PentestGPT and Strix are open source and cost only your model bill. The right HackerGPT alternative depends on your data rules and whether you want a chat helper or an agent, and it should come from a company that tells you who it is.
It depends which HackerGPT you mean, and I would not trust a price from a third-party article. The “$20 a month Pro plan” reported in 2024 is not on any vendor page I could read. Check the operator’s own site, legal pages and payment method before you pay, and avoid anything that accepts only anonymous payment.
On 9 November 2026 the hackergpt.chat domain showed a page saying it was for sale. I could not find an announcement explaining why, so I do not know whether the 2024 assistant was shut down, moved or sold. Treat any site using that name as unverified until its operator confirms who they are.
Some products using the name may be real tools and some are unaffiliated clones. Projects that advertise “backdoor implementation” are not something to run on a work machine, and tools that offer people-lookup features are doing something other than security testing. Verify the domain, read the data terms and use the red-flag list above before you paste anything sensitive.
Yes, there are two. PentestGPT is MIT licensed with a USENIX Security 2024 paper, and Strix is Apache-2.0 licensed with a Docker sandbox and a v1.7.0 release from October 2026. Both need your own model access, so the real cost is the API bill and your setup time.
I would not, for a work tool. Cryptocurrency-only payment usually means no company name, no billing process and no recourse if the tool disappears or mishandles your data, and a legitimate security vendor will accept ordinary payment and publish its terms. If a vendor will not tell you who it is, that is the answer to whether to trust it.
The best HackerGPT alternative starts with knowing which HackerGPT you meant and whether the people behind it are accountable. Verify the domain, read the data terms, avoid anonymous-payment tools, and pick the HackerGPT alternative that matches the job, whether that is an open-source agent or a full platform.
Products and names in this corner of the market change often, so re-check before you pay.
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